Friday, May 26, 2017

1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

“The President shall
be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever
it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress
lawless violence, invasion, or rebellion.
In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he
may, for a period of not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus or place the
Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. Within forty-eight hours from the
proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas
corpus, the President shall submit a
report in person or in writing to the Congress.
The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all
its Members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation or
suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President. Upon the initiative of the President, the
Congress may in the same manner, extend such proclamation or suspension for a
period to be determined by the Congress, if the invasion or rebellion shall
persist and public safety requires it.” (Article VII, Section 18)

Such is the compound and complex provision enunciated in the
now existing and binding Philippine Constitution – more specifically in
conjunction with the Declaration of Martial Law in the Country as a whole or
any part thereof – like the region of Mindanao.
Sad to say and sorrowful to note, it is a rather well-known long-existing
fact that while Mindanao is famous for its numerous amazing sights and pleasing
sounds, the same region is likewise notable for long-time unrest in certain
parts thereof on account of downright rebel groupings therein existing and
operating which were then local in origin and spirit but which are now even
joined by a well-known violent and mortal group with certain distinctly violent
spirit plus mortal objective. As
practically every Filipino knows, it is called Isis - somehow identifiable
with mortal weaponry and deadly spirit.

Recently, the rebel groups became more exacting and
unforgiving , more wild and mortal such that the killings they do here and
there have become as a matter of course.
Worst. It now appears that the
difference in religion has even become a valid cause for them in killing others
– the Catholics in particular. So it is
that these days, it is not merely a matter of ideology but also an issue of
religious belief that the said rebel groups take into serious and deadly
consideration. They have gone mortal not only in race but also on creed. It is now not enough that they capture
innocent foreign tourist for a price in favor of their release. Otherwise, they were even beheaded. This is a distinct example of something
already bad still going worst. When will
this atrocity in Mindanao – that in fact goes to Central Luzon every now and
then – end, if ever.

While the mere phrase and mention of Martial Law then brought anger and disgust when mentioned in the
Philippines, it appears that this time, it has somehow become welcomed under
distinct cruel and mortal events taking place in Mindanao and thus declared by
the President acting according to the letter and spirit of an expressed and
formal provision in the Philippine Constitution. Would that the regional rebellion now taking
place eventually end – the sooner, the better.

Oscar Cruz

About The Blogger

Most Reverend Oscar V. Cruz, D.D. is the Archbishop-Emeritus of Lingayen-Dagupan. He is currently the Judicial Vicar of the National Tribunal of Appeals. He is a prolific writer, having published several dozen books mostly on judicial and moral matters. His most recent book is about the Social Doctrines of the Church. He also has a blog where he posts regularly. He is an avid coin collector and dabbles in woodworking art.